Local Flavor February 2011

Santa Fe ♡ Albuquerque ♡ Taos

LOVE

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Dancing in the Deli Jeff & Ramona Schwartzberg

More Amazing Couples Fan Man Productions Niman Fine Art jennifer james 101

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

February 2011

Valentine's Day Dinner executive Chef Oliver ridgeway

FIVE STAR PAIRINGS

The Red Sage offers a vast selection of wine to complement any dish and any palate. Sip a robust, flavorful red, or taste a crisp and fruity white–aromatic and flavorful. The Red Sage boasts exquisite culinary fare in an intimate atmosphere. Business and pleasure, relaxation and stimulation, great food and superb wine–it all pairs perfectly at the Red Sage Restaurant.

For reservations call 505.819.2056.

Valentine’s Day Come celebrate Valentine’s Day in Southwestern elegance—with fresh, seasonal dishes inspired by one of New Mexico’s most highly acclaimed chefs.

MoNDay, February 14th, 2011 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM $75.00 Per Person $125.00 Per Person with Wine Pairing

(reservations required)

eNjoy liVe MuSiC eVery FriDay Night!

113 WaShiNgtoN aVe., SaNta Fe • 505.988.3030 www.innoftheanasazi.com

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FEBRUARY 2011

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CASINO | HOTEL | FINE DINING | SPA | GOLF | NIGHTCLUBS | CONVENTION CENTER 877.THUNDER | 505.455.5555 | BUFFALOTHUNDERRESORT.COM

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

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inside: Buzz | by Patty and Christie pg. 08

What’s in, what’s out, what’s hot, what’s not. That’s the buzzzzzzz.

La Casa Sena Wine and Spirits

by James Selby pg. 12

The kick-off of a new series showcasing the independent fine wine stores in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos. In other words, an homage to the cork dorks!

Art is a Family Affair | by Gail Snyder pg. 16

Arlo and Nicole Namingha of Niman Fine Art offer a lighthearted look into their “since kindergarten” romance and the passion for art and community that fills them today.

On the Cover: Dancing in the Deli

by Chef Johnny Vee pg. 20

JV takes his At the Table column to the New York Deli where owners Jeff and Ramona Schwartzberg dance their way to our cover and share their recipe for happiness and great bagels.

Swept Off Their Feet | by Ana June pg. 25

Laurie Lenfestey is a creative jeweler and designer with a shop on Canyon Road. Jamie Lenfestey is the man who brings music to Santa Fe and the powerhouse behind Fan Man Productions. Don’t miss reading their story--a delightful romance that will sweep you off your feet.

Mundos de Mestizaje | by Emily Beenen pg. 28 Fresco artist Frederico Vigil captures 3000 years of Hispanic history on the walls and ceiling of the Torreón at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. It is not only a work of monumental proportions and breathtaking artistry it is a gift of the heart to the Hispanic community.

Tasty Traditions | by Tania Cassell pg. 30

Localflavor tags along with author Sharon Niederman as she traverses our great state looking for the recipes and stories behind our tasty traditions.

Team 101 | by Christie Chisholm pg. 33

An extraordinary story of the women who are in the kitchen– and at the heart–of jennifer james 101.

Photo: Gabriella Marks

Still Hungry? | by Emily Ruch pg. 36

“Lovers come and go, but food is forever!” Amen to that, Emily. And a special thanks to Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse, jennifer james 101, Byzantium and the Love Apple for sharing recipes that prove the point!

ON OUR COVER: Jeff and Ramona Schwatzberg

February 2011 ~ P u b l i s h e r s

Patty & Peter Karlovitz E d i t o r Patty Karlovitz P u b l i s h e r ’s A s s i s t a n t Emily Ruch A r t D i r e c t o r Jasmine Quinsier C o v e r p h o t o : Gaelen Casey A d v e r t i s i n g : Michelle Moreland 505.699.7369. Roger Griego 505.490.1671. A d D e s i g n : Mario Moreno of INK D i s t r i b u t i o n : Southwest Circulation L o c a l F l a v o r 2 2 3 N o r t h G u a d a l u p e # 4 4 2 , S a n t a F e , N M 8 7 5 0 1 Te l : 5 0 5 . 9 8 8 . 7 5 6 0 F a x : 9 8 8 . 9 6 6 3 E - m a i l : l o c a l f l a v o r @ e a r t h l i n k . n e t W e b s i t e : w w w . l o c a l f l a v o r m a g a z i n e . c o m localflavor welcomes new writers. Send writing samples to localflavor@earthlink.net localflavor is published 11 times a year: Feb, March, Apr, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec/Jan. S u b s c r i p t i o n s $ 2 4 p e r y e a r . Mail check to above address. © Edible Adventure Co.‘96. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used without the permission of Edible Adventure Co. localflavor accepts advertisements from advertisers believed to be reputable, but can’t guarantee it. All editorial information is gathered from sources understood to be reliable, but printed without responsibility for erroneous, incorrect, or omitted information.

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FEBRUARY 2011

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Loretto Loves Romance!

Welcomes Mandana Nowroozian Allied Member ASID

CELEBRATE THE MONTH OF LOVE

FEBRUARY DINING All month long, enjoy our signature menu featuring indigenous, seasonal ingredients flavored with Southwestern spices to give Santa Fe cuisine a flavorful new twist. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

LIVING ROOM Santa Fe’s favorite musician, Matthew Andrae, performs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 8pm – 11pm during February and March. Enjoy our reverse happy hour until 11pm nightly. The Living Room is the place locals call home!

211 Old Santa Fe Trail | 505.988.5531 | lorettoexperience.com

Photography by Laurie Allegretti

VALENTINE’S DAY Monday, February 14th from 5 to 9pm. Take a culinary journey down the road to Happily Ever After with an exceptional menu inspired by pure love. Four-courses for $60 per person. Dinner with Wine Pairings $95 per person. Call 505-984-7915 for reservations. Legacy Club guests receive a $10 discount.

left: Lisa Samuel, Owner/President/Lead Designer, ASID, IIDA, NMLID #313 right: Jennifer Ashton, Allied Member ASID seated: Mandana Nowroozian, Allied Member ASID

New things are happening in the world of interiors! Stop by our showroom and let our team show you what’s new! comprehensive interior design samueldesigngroup.com • 505.820.0239 ArtYard Lofts at the Railyard, Santa Fe

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

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FEBRUARY 2011

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's Editorletter February already has us in its icy grip, making it all that more inviting to snuggle up inside. The weather also makes it the perfect month to celebrate that snuggliest of holidays, Valentine’s Day. To get you in the

mood, we’ve dedicated the issue to four amazing couples who really bring home the love. It starts on our cover with Jeff and Ramona Schwartzberg, of New York Deli fame, who not only have the perfect recipes for bagels and matzo ball soup but also have the secret to a great partnership. It’s a story that will leave you dancing.

Our second duo is Arlo and Nicole Namingha, of Niman Fine Art. Possessing serious clout on the national art scene, yet down-to-earth and unassuming in their hometown, this power couple, who have been sweethearts since kindergarten, will charm you with their banter.

You’ll also meet the man behind Santa Fe’s contemporary music scene, Jamie Lenfestey. Lenfestey is the strength and the passion behind Fan Man Productions, and the source of his strength and passion is his wife, Laurie. In the same spirit, Laurie has carved a very special niche of her own, with a creative line of jewelry and a gallery on Canyon Road.

Back on the culinary scene, we join Jennifer James and Nelle Bauer at jennifer james 101. The restaurant is an Albuquerque landmark— an exquisite place that never fails to surprise and delight. Jennifer and Nelle work side by side in the kitchen each day, as committed to their craft as they are to each other.

February also marks the kickoff of a new series on the independent wine shops in our three cities. As writer James Selby states, “What is clear is that each neighborhood wine store—grand, storied, or mom-and-pop—is operated by individuals of unique and resolute vision.” Starting with La Casa Sena Wine Shop we’re delighted to bring you the stories of these entrepreneurs, each with the “audacious passion of a Broadwayproducer.”

We’re also excited about our second year of co-hosting a series of luncheons with the Southwest Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA, the folks who bring us Indian Market each year). The luncheons are an extraordinary opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of lively conversation with leading Native American artists in the intimate setting of one of our fine restaurants. Our first event is on February 10, in the Library at the Inn of the Anasazi, where Executive Chef Oliver Ridgeway will prepare a special threecourse lunch with paired wines. Three noted contemporary artists, cartoonist Ricardo Cate, ceramicist Diego Romero and potter Jason Garcia, will discuss their views on Native life in modern culture. The luncheon cost is $60 per person, with half of the proceeds donated to SWAIA’s education and scholarship fund. For more information you can call SWAIA at 505.983.5220. I would love to see you there.

I’d like to close with this quote from our Still Hungry column, where writer Emily Ruch provided us with the quintessential line for a localflavor Valentine: “Lovers come and go, but food is forever!”

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

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theBuzz

an independent audit of its yogurt culture count, which is financially prohibitive at this time. So there’s the skinny. Sorry for the error, everyone. Go and support this tasty and honest local business. 3339 Central NE, 505.718.4656, www.oloyogurt.com.

Albuquerque

by Christie Chisholm

What better way to treat your loved one than with a fine meal made with some of the best local ingredients? Los Poblanos serves up Valentine’s Dinner in the way you’d expect from one of Albuquerque’s best and most well-known establishments: with a four-course meal including the likes of pumpkin and fennel salad, house-made tagliatelle and Wagyu tri-tip prepared by Executive Chef Jonathan Perno. Come a little early and enjoy your drinks in the Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Cultural Center’s library, then dine by candlelight in the grand ballroom. Served Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12. Seatings are by reservation and take place every half hour, starting at 6 p.m. on both days. Tickets are $150 plus tax and not including drinks. 4803 Rio Grande NW. For reservations, call 505.344.9297 ext. 3, or visit www.lospoblanos.com.

| Los Poblanos

Even if you don’t bring your partner, you can get some sweet deals at the Old Town Sweetheart Stroll this Saturday, February 12. Merchants will be offering specials, including festive Valentine’s Day dinner packages at some restaurants. In true shopand-stroll style, galleries and shops will keep their doors open late that night while the sounds of live entertainment will drift down the avenues. The event kicks off in the gazebo with tango dancing at noon and goes until 9 p.m. And it’s absolutely free.

Call 311 for more information, or visit www.cabq.gov/crs/newfun.html.

Some of the best works in contemporary Spanish photography will hang inside the National Hispanic Cultural Center through the end of March. Come to an opening reception of Mujeres y Mujeres / Women and Women on Thursday, February 3, at 6:30 p.m., at Instituto Cervantes of Albuquerque (at the NHCC) to welcome the perplexing, metaphysical, androgynous and emotional images of Isabel Muñoz, Beatriz Moreno, Gabriela Grech, Ouka Leele and Soledad Córdoba. Free. 1701 Fourth Street SW, 505.724.4777, www.nhccnm.org.

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| Red Stick Ramblers | Mujeres y Mujeres

Bibliophiles can get their freak on with a brand-new lecture series hosted by Bookworks. Readings on the Rio Grande is bringing New York Times–bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning authors to Albuquerque through mid-March. This month, catch Pulitzer Prize winner and National Book Award recipient Annie Proulx (author of Brokeback Mountain) on Monday, February 7, with her newest work, Bird Cloud: A Memoir, at UNM’s Woodward Hall. Then on Sunday, Feb. 27, listen to Douglas Preston, co-author, along with Lincoln Child, of the bestselling Agent Pendergast books and author of the soonto-be-made-into-a-major-motion-picture The Monster of Florence, as he discusses Gideon’s Sword, the first installment of the new Preston/Child series, at Bookworks.

And keep an eye out for Alan Arkin and his memoir, An Improvised Life, on Tuesday, March 1. For details on these events and the rest of the lecture series, visit www.bkwrks. com.

There are plenty of Cajun-loving folks in these parts; I know because I’ve seen them at crawfish boils. If you happen to be one of them, you won’t want to miss the Red Stick Ramblers, who are coming to the South Broadway Cultural Center on Saturday, February 12. Infusing Cajun sound into Western swing, blues and old-school jazz, the Ramblers have been playing their type of home-grown music since several band members first started playing together in 1999, while attending Louisiana State University. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and children and can be bought over the phone at 505.848.1320. 1025 Broadway SE. For more information, visit www.cabq.gov/sbcc.

Wicked. You know what I’m talking about.

The Broadway hit that’s been touring the world, winning a Grammy and three Tony Awards, and being declared “the defining musical of the decade” by The New York Times is finally at Popejoy Hall—right now through Sunday, February 13. Then the blockbuster is packing up and heading The Southwest Burlesque Showcase is back! off to another eagerly awaiting town. So The most titillating performers from New don’t miss the story of how Glinda the Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado and Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the Texas will dazzle you with ruffles, silk and West got their start. And here’s something sequins. Come if you’ve got a sense of humor cool: Popejoy is holding a recurring lottery and non-Puritanical leanings. It’s at the for $25 orchestra seats. Each day, if you KiMo Theatre Friday and Saturday, February show up two and a half hours prior to 11 and 12, from 8 to 10:15 p.m. both nights. show time, you can place your names in a Tickets range in price from $14 to $20. 423 lottery drum. Thirty minutes later, names Central NW, 505.768.3544, www.cabq.gov/ will be drawn; if your name is picked, you kimo. can buy up to two seats at $25 a piece. For a complete schedule of performances, to In the last issue, I wrote about a delightful buy tickets or for more information, call new yogurt shop in Nob Hill, Olo Yogurt 505.925.5858 or 877.664.8661, or visit Studio. It’s still delightful and its yogurt is www.popejoypresents.com. still delicious, but I was wrong when I said the yogurt is homemade. This is from Paula Pope, the owner: “We have been working hard to make our little shop the best it can be and with the greatest transparency as possible. With that said, I must clarify that our yogurt is not homemade. Yogurt requires a fermentation process, which allows the growth of good bacteria. In order to provide the highest quality assurance (and make sure we are only providing good and healthy bacteria) we decided to source our yogurt.”

Pope goes on to say that in order to make its own yogurt, Olo would have to pay for | 516 Arts

FEBRUARY 2011

Want to get ready for the Academy Awards?

On Saturday, Feb. 19, the KiMo Theatre is showing four hours of Oscar-nominated short films. From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., catch the five live-action nominated shorts: The Confession, by Tanel Toom; The Crush,

by Michael Creagh; God of Love, by Luke Mathen; Na Wewe, by Ivan Goldschmidt; and Wish 143, by Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite. Then from 7 to 9 p.m., catch the animated shorts: Day & Night, by Teddy Newton; The Gruffalo, by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang; Let’s Pollute, by Geefwee Boedoe; The Lost Thing, by Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann; and Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary),

by Bastien Dubois. Tickets are $10 per category or $15 for both. 423 Central NW, 505.768.3544, www.cabq.gov/kimo.

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516 ARTS does it again. On Saturday, Feb. 19, the downtown gallery is opening another one of its fabulous exhibitions. Latina/o Visual Imaginary: Intersection of Word & Image examines the connections between Latina/o art and literature and their influence on shared cultural experiences. Viva Paredes, Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano, Elena Baca, Yreina Cervantez and Spain Rodriguez are among the featured artists.

The exhibition is part of a larger project called Latina/o Imaginary and will feature literary, visual and performing arts throughout the spring. On Feb. 19, come from 6 to 8 p.m. for an opening reception, and return the next day on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. for an artist talk with Pepón Osorio and Amalia Mesa-Bains. For a full list of events, visit www.516arts.org. 516 Central SW, 505.242.1445.

SANTA FE

by Patty Karlovitz patty@localflavormagazine.com Let’s start the Valentine’s buzz with a sure winner: Sex and Violets. Yes, even the horticulturists are feeling the love this month as the Santa Fe Botanical Garden Club prepares to seduce you with an evening devoted to the love language of flowers. The presentation centers on fun topics like perfumes used to lure pollinators, the folklore associated with our love affair with plants and ancient botanical methods for luring a partner. The February 13 event features champagne and chocolate

and costs $15 for members and $20 for non-members. At Counter Culture from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. 505.471.9103.

In keeping with the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we also promised to bring you some local pleasures and treasures in this issue— and what better way to say “I love you” than with a treasure chest. This one was designed

by Lisa Samuel, a native Santa Fean and owner of Samuel Design Group. The handcrafted trunk was inspired by a 1940s design that caught Lisa’s eye and caught our eye as well. Fun fact: Lisa was the winning interior designer on HGTV’s Designer’s Challenge in 2007. That officially makes Lisa a TV celebrity designer—right here in Santa Fe! Their beautiful studio is in the trendy Railyard. 505.820.0239. www. samueldesigngroup.com.

Mexico Women in the Arts and the CCA. The ambitious exhibition also includes six weekends of live performances that run from February 11 through March 20. The gala reception and art awards ceremony will be held on February 11, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the CCA, at 1050 Old Pecos Trail. Go to ccasantafe.org or newmexicowomeninthearts.org for complete schedule and ticket prices.

The Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, on Museum Hill, just opened their new exhibit showcasing the life and work of the painter Cady Wells. Wells was a celebrated Modernist painter as well as one of the foremost collectors of New Mexican historic art in the 1930s and 40s. The exhibit explores his life and work, how his collecting influenced his own art and how it changed our understanding and perception of the past. “Bravo!” to Museum Director Donna Pedace for bringing us this fascinating, multi-layered exhibit. 505.982.2226. www. spanishcolonial.org.

| Lisa Samuel

Ó Eating House is the kind of restaurant you can take your Italian grandmother to—or your foodie cousin who’s visiting from New York City. Chef Steven Lemon has an enviable following of locals, and he’s planning a series of wine dinners for them.

You can join the fun on the third Thursday of every month—the first one kicks off on February 17 with a three-course dinner and paired wines for $55 per person. The restaurant is just 15 minutes from Santa Fe, next to the Poeh Museum, in Pojoaque on Hwy 84/285. 505.455.2000.

After delighting New Mexico audiences over the holidays, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is on tour and performing in New York City at the famed Joyce Theater February 22 through 27. If you’re looking for a glamorous way to support the arts, plan on attending the opening night performance, which is followed by an intimate seated dinner with the dancers in the cast. Dinner is at the uber chic Del Posto, a four-star restaurant owned by culinary greats Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali. The gala fundraiser is $500 per person and includes VIP seating at the theater, dinner and cocktails. www.aspensantafeballet.com.

The Muñoz Waxman Gallery, at the Center for Contemporary Arts, is featuring a cultural consortium of visual arts, film and performing arts created by women from New Mexico. There will be more than 100 works on display, and all are for sale. Sales will benefit New

| Cady Wells

Marble Brewery (technically out of Albuquerque, but I love their beers so much that I snatched this buzz item from Christie), continues to bring home the gold. They also continue to push the limits with craft beers by experimenting with different techniques, flavors and ingredients.

Ted Rice, head brewer, created From the Wood for this year’s Great American Beer Festival, and Draft magazine named it one of The Top 25 Beers of the Year. Love their description: “Figs and plum immerse the tongue…the bourbon’s vanilla notes meld seamlessly into the flavor, achieving a stunning level of sophistication.” (And you thought only wine connoisseurs waxed poetic!) Congratulations on this well-deserved national recognition. www. marblebrewery.com.

Here’s something new and fun—a Japanese Film Festival! Promoters call it a “lip-smacking two-day showcase of cutting-edge Japanese film and animation features including six delectable movies.”

Warehouse 21, Santa Fe’s teen art center, in collaboration with Tidepoint Pictures, a Santa Fe–based Asian-film distribution company, came up with the concept—a first-ever film festival that spotlights new directors, new anime talents and new technology. It runs two days, February 19

and 20, at Warehouse 21 in the Railyard District. For more information, call 505.9894423 or check out their websites at www.warehouse21.org or www. tidepoint.com.

TAOS

by Patty Karlovitz patty@localflavormagazine.com Well, El Monte Sagrado is certainly sharing the love. Check out the offerings at their gorgeous spa during Valentine’s week: a Melt Me Massage, where you get to choose your own sexy scent to set the mood; a Love Thyself facial, manicure and pedicure; and a Two to Tango couples’ massage and tub. 575.737.9886 for reservations.

| Film Genius Party

The Nile Café, that wonderful little food cart that opened last year across from Trader Joe’s, has moved on down to the Southside. They’re located on Rodeo Road, by the intersection of Richards Avenue, and are doing better than ever, according to the personable owner, Gigi Griffo. They’ve added Middle Eastern breakfast flat breads (a great alternative to a breakfast burrito) and locally-roasted Red Rock coffee to the menu. Plus you don’t even have to get out of your car at this location!

The café is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

And speaking of meals on wheels….did you notice the cute little Minnie Vinny in front of Vinaigrette? It’s not open yet, but I understand that it’s going to be Santa Fe’s first ever Salad Bistro Truck.

Leave it to Vinaigrette owner, Erin Wade, to come up with yet another fun and fantastic way to serve up the veggies.

| Vinaigrette

| El Monte Sagrado

For something a little less steamy, enjoy a night of comedy at Sagrado on February 12 at 6:30 p.m. It’s a very sweet benefit for the Taos Youth Music School featuring standup comedy, a hypnotist, dancing, a silent auction and a dessert bar and champagne. Sounds like fun for a great cause. 575.758.5052 Think about all of those yummy stories localflavor has been doing on Taos restaurants this past year—all of the places you meant to try but somehow never got around to. Now imagine that for one wild week you can eat in those restaurants at amazing discounts. You know their stories!

You know their food! You know you deserve it! Enter Taos Restaurant Week, which runs from February 27 through March 6. At press time, these local favorites were already on board: Doc Martin’s, El Monte Sagrado, El Meze, the Stakeout and The Gorge. Check out the website at www. nmrestaurantweek.com; there are sure to be more restaurants added as the big week draws near. When it comes to eating out, there is no better cheerleader than localflavor…and this is something to cheer about!

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A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

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Fine Food & Spectacular Views Join Us For A Romantic Getaway Dinner

Dinner nightly from 5 pm 101 Stakeout Drive

A Valentine’s Day gift that is creative and delicious... stop into The Spanish Table to choose from a selection of fine Spanish chocolates.

Clay cazuelas, paella pans & ingredients, handpainted ceramics, exotic spices, cookbooks, music, & sexy flamenco aprons! ¡Olé!

575.758.2042

off Highway 68

stakeoutrestaurant.com 9 miles south of Taos

When you’ve been there and done it all, come on home to Joe’s where local farming and great food come together

The Spanish Table

109 North Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe, NM at the corner of West San Francisco Tel: (505) 986-0243 www.spanishtablewines.com www.spanishtable.com Seattle + Berkeley + Santa Fe + Mill Valley

Santa Fe’s biggest restaurant buyer of Farmers Market Products Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Sunday Brunch

505-471-3800 | JoesSantaFe.com 2801 Rodeo Rd (where Rodeo meets Zia Rd) Open 7:30 a.m - 9:00 p.m. | Tues – Sun

Roland, chef-owner

Home of the $99 cowboy boots Kowboyz Coupon

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shirts for $10 cowboy men and women

Open Daily Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner In the Indian Pueblo Cultual Center 2401 12th St. NW (12th & I-40) 505-724-3510 • IndianPueblo.com

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FEBRUARY 2011

Bring in this ad for 20% off any pair of boots

345 Manhattan Avenue at Guadalupe 505-984-1256 | Across from the Train Depot | Free Parking www.kowboybootz.com / www.kowboyz.com

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Celebrate Your Next Occasion With Us Let Rio Chama host your next dinner, business meeting or reception.

3 Autumn Sage Lane Bernalillo, NM 87048 3-4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms, 3,187 SqFt.

Enjoy the private Patio and Patio Bar this spring.

They are the perfect addition to a President’s Room party. Receive a special offer if you book the patio in March, April or May.

Open Daily from 11am till closing 414 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501 955-0765 | RioChamaSteakhouse.com

Offered at $875,000

Rural living with Urban convenience nestled in the 3 Autumn Sage Estates

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1.5 acres • 3187 sqft Acequia/water rights $875,000 Contact Corrin @463-2255

La Casa Sena Wine Shop COme See OuR newLy exPanded StORe! Offering over 350 new wines. Purchase any of the 2200 bottles on La Casa Sena’s wine list.

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125 East Palace, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 982-2121 | lacasasena.com

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

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a n e S a s a La C Wine and Spirits Shop

story by JAMES SELBY

photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

I

n the coming months, localflavor magazine is embarking on a series of articles featuring some of Northern New Mexico’s independent fine wine stores. “Independent” is an apt description of the people who operate our local retail wine stores. You have to have the audacious passion of a Broadway producer to invest the capital necessary to get a license, let alone to purchase inventory chosen from the estimated 10,000 different grape varieties, which translates, exponentially, into hundreds of thousands of wines.

What is clear is that each neighborhood wine store—grand, storied, or momand-pop—is operated by individuals of unique and resolute vision.

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A palpable transformation is occurring in the wine community here and around the country, not unlike that of the “farm to table” movement. Any chef worth her fleur de sel is adamant about sourcing her products, be they natural, sustainable, organic, or simply the best out there.

Owners and managers of our fine wine stores are pursuant of the same prevailing desire: to bring this global, whirling life back into our own hands, to give credence to craft, and to heed what we consume.

Spend time in any fine wine shop in the Santa Fe or Albuquerque area and you will find fervent “cork dorks” guiding customers away from industrialized brands and

toward grower Champagne, natural wines of Loire, garage pinot noir from California Central Coast. We can’t all be farmers, winemakers, or sommeliers, but we can all participate in how and where we choose to spend our money. In this highly competitive business, there is, nevertheless, a collective spirit that unites these purveyors: the celebration of craft, honor of the land, and the art of winemaking.

Jim Cook, Wine Director for Santa Fe’s La Casa Sena Wine and Spirits Shop and their adjoining restaurants, is the perfect person for a job with a breathtaking scope of areas to oversee: 2200 handpicked offerings, near 20,000 bottles of inventory, vintages from 1861, price tags as high as $12,000 (or as low as $12), an extensive selection of grower Champagne, restaurant wine lists, staff education, special events, and public tastings (held the third Saturday of every month). And, to be sure, he possesses the exceptional abilities necessary to do it. A former CFO for international corporations, Cook traveled extensively, living and supping in world capitals, before moving to this one. En route, his affinity for wine evolved from a social avocation into a profession. With his financial experience, Cook brings to the table extensive training under the auspices of the Court of Master Sommeliers and the French Culinary Institute, voluminous reading, and tasting, tasting, tasting.

You’d think with such erudition and worldly experience someone like Jim Cook would be, well, a snob. And he is.

But only if you consider one who draws on professional expertise, strives to discern quality, and has the confidence—indeed, the responsibility­—to make a judgment call to be a smarty pants. “We focus our selection on people who grow grapes and make wine,” says Jim, “not on multinational organizations that do so.”

In reality, Jim is magnanimous toward all well-made wine and curious seekers, and you will not find him looking down his nose—unless, of course, it’s in a glass and he’s using it to establish the integrity of a wine. “The only bad wine,” says Jim “is a boring wine.”

Just a few steps away from the Plaza, two passageways tunnel the length of the store front on Palace Avenue to open onto a mews known as Sena Plaza, where independent shops and La Casa Sena venues occupy a former hacienda, circa 1830, bordering a fountain courtyard with meandering paths. Benches and wrought-iron tables are shaded by a towering cottonwood in warm weather,

| Wine Director Jim Cook

and elegant rooms for fine dining are adjacent to the Cellar Lounge. La Casa Sena also has La Cantina, where Broadwaycaliber performers serve up live tunes and casual fare. (The accomplished servers bring to mind a Lily Tomlin quip: “I supported my career as a waitress by working as an actress.”) There’s also the Wine Shop, tucked in a covered patio behind the shop.

In summer, sample three wines for $10, glimpse the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi across the street, and nibble from a plate of cheese, charcuterie, or ceviche.

In the way that secular folk enjoy viewing a cathedral, even people without an interest in wine will appreciate La Casa Sena Wine Shop. A magnum opus of cozy retail splendor, with its warren of rooms, the Wine Shop boasts floor-toceiling wooden racks, a glassed-off cellar for rare bottles, small leather armchairs, kiva fireplaces, and narrow interconnecting doors framed in wood, etched by long-ago artisans. Today’s craftspeople have recently broken through into a vacant storefront, creating a new entrance to the shop from Palace Avenue and affording additional display. Temperature-wise, the place is something of an iceberg. Even with the expansion, each and every bottle will be in air-conditioned storage within the premises.

About the climate control, Jim says, “It makes a difference.”

One of Jim Cook’s missions when taking the job a little over a year ago was to change the image of the shop as being some kind of forbidden temple. Assuredly, collectors and connoisseurs can lay hands on hard-to-acquire wines, including an exceptional collection of large format (magnums, Jeroboams, etc.) and a goodly number of 375 milliliters, or half-bottles.

But there are also hundreds of wines priced for everyday consumption. In fact, in the new addition there will a specified section of offerings priced under $20. “At its root all wine is fermented grape juice,” says Cook. “We don’t worship wine; we feel it is part of la dolce vita, and is to be enjoyed— daily, if possible.”

Throughout the world of wine, there is a deceptively quiet movement occurring, one that has the region of Champagne on the verge of profound change. It is a movement in which growers of grapes craft and bottle wine themselves. They are referred to as Champagne de Vignerons, or “producers of grower Champagne.”

Though established grape farmers have traditionally made their living, as their families did before them, selling their crops, today’s sons and daughters, the new generation, see things differently.

As winemakers, they have entered into a A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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David-and-Goliath struggle with the larger, much-loved houses, whose names and labels appear in movies and on posters. In an effort to replicate a “house” style and meet demand, big brands industrialize production, source grapes and juice from cooperatives, even purchase already-made sparkling wine. Some aficionados say the resulting product, though consistent, has lost all sense of terroir, or place, and are too processed and formulaic. It’s the wine-world equivalent of the farmers’ market versus the grocery chain.

In exception to this trend are the grower wines. Starting in cost at around forty dollars a bottle, they are often less expensive than those of conglomerates who need to support advertising and distribution. “There are fine wines being made by big houses,” says Cook of vintage Champagnes and tête de cuvées, the most prestigious offerings, “the irony being they are buying grapes from these very growers.” With a merry coup de grace, Cook adds, “Of course, the farmers keep the very best grapes for their own wine.”

Because a farmer grows grapes and turns them into Champagne, are they necessarily any better than the big-name brands? “It depends on what you prefer,” says Jim, “a homogeneous product, each bottle the same, or a unique wine that speaks of the ground it comes from and the year of its harvest.” Some of the guesswork has been handled by a self-governing society of producers called Trésors de Champagne (“Treasures of Champagne”).

To become a member, a vigneron must meet strict requirements, submitting wines more than once to a panel of peers who are qualified to approve the designation of “Special Club.” Nothing but the most exceptional wines in the best vintages will pass. In addition to those belonging to Trésors, scores of superb growers are bottling wines with the common goal to create a distinctive, hand-tended product, reflective of their highly-prized grand cru and premier cru vineyards. “In most cases, these are typically small properties,” explains La Casa Sena Wine Shop and Cellar’s store manager, Stefanie Gallegos, “with vines right outside the farmer’s kitchen door.”

La Casa Sena has made a sizeable investment directly importing more than thirty growers’ labels. “Many represented on our shelves cannot be found anywhere in the western region of the United States other than right here,” says Jim, not without some pride. “I’ve never seen a selection of Champagne like ours. Shall we try one?” he asks, disappearing around a corner. Returning with a stout, dark green bottle with “Special Club” embossed upon the neck, he pulls the cork and pours a sample. It is a brut from 2002 by a man named Henri Goutorbe, a silken filigree of golden malt, a mash of blueberry, the waft of a buttery croissant playing a cadence on the tongue like the trill of a happy woman.

“That’s the last bottle of that,” says Jim Cook.

“There is no more.”

La Casa Sena Wine and Spirits Shop is located at 125 East Palace Avenue, in Santa Fe. They’re open from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

505.982.2121 www. lacasasena.com.

Competitive Prices Largest Selection Friendly Staff Established 1981

We also carry over 20 varieties of keg beer

The Best “Local” wine shop around…

Wine tasting every Saturday 4pm - 7pm Something for every taste

Presently Stocking

Over 3,500 Wines 800 Beer Choices 105 Single Malt Scotches 220 Types of Vodka 222 Tequilas 136 Types of Rum 505-455-2219 | kokoman@cybermesa.com Hwy 84/285 Pojoaque, 12 miles North of Santa Fe

LaPo Local Events Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Saturday Sunday

Margarita Mondays Backgammon – Bring Your Own Board Savor Cuban Jazz 6:30-9:30pm RockResort Spa 1/2 price on facials, massages and body treatments Art Tour with Sara Eyestone Art Curator 4:45pm Nacha Mendez Latin World Quartet 6:30-9:30pm Pat and Whitney Malone Latin Jazz 8:00-11:00pm Fuego two for one dinner with a purchase of a bottle of wine or complimentary kids menu (age 12 and under)

Sleep, Spa, or Wine & Dine for or choose all three for $297

Our Valentine gift to you a portion of any Fuego, Staab Lounge, Spa or Guest Room proceeds will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico.

(Valid 2/11-14/2011)

Reservations 505-954-9670 • Opentable.com 330 E. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe • laposada.rockresorts.com ASPEn • BEAvER CREEk • BRECkEnRidgE • JACkSOn HOlE MiAMi • SAntA FE • vAil • St. luCiA • dOMiniCAn REPuBliC

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99

$

The

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A Sample of Our Winter Menu Items Pureed Lentil and Pancetta Soup Coppa di Testa croquette

Two Hour Egg with Polenta Two Ways

Creamy and crispy polenta, wild mushroom ragout, Oregon black truffles

Suckling Pig Tasting

Crispy confit, braised shoulder wrapped in chard, seared loin, cipolinni onions, Sauce Robert

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Sous vide striploin, celery root and golden raisin kugel, thumbelina carrots, foie gras hollandaise

403½ Guadalupe • Santa Fe • 505.984.9104 Open Tuesday-Saturday 5:30-9:30 • maxssantafe.com 2011 SFO local Flavor_Layout 2 1/27/11 10:58 AM Page 1

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Tickets start as low as $25 each – order today!

Arrive early for a tailgate supper and amazing vistas.

Learn more online and enjoy listening to musical highlights now.

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Family

Art is a

affair story by GAIL SNYDER p h o t o s b y K AT E R U S S E L L

Ask noted sculptor Arlo Namingha and his wife, Nicole, how they met, and they’ll jump right in, spinning the story between them, with lots of cheerful back-and-forth teasing and plenty of laughter. “We started going out when we were both seniors in high school—” Arlo begins, straightforwardly.

“—but we met when we were in kindergarten!” Nicole cuts in, detouring the story with a big smile.

“Headstart!” Arlo agrees, chuckling.

“I don’t remember the first time I saw him. We had different teachers at first, then they put our classes together, remember that?”

Nicole asks. Arlo draws a blank. “But I do remember we were competitive with each other,” she continues.

“Yeah, she was very athletic—remember field day?” Before Nicole can pick up that thread, though, Arlo steals the story back. “We were the best of friends in high school. Nicole, her cousin, and me, we were like the Three Musketeers.” They laugh heartily at the memories of their earlier selves’ exploits.

“I’m seven days older—“ Nicole interjects.

“—unless it’s a Leap Year!” Arlo reminds her, and they laugh some more.

| Nicole and Arlo Namingha

Nicole, who went to the Santa Fe Indian School, is Tewa, while Arlo, who went to Española High, is of Hopi and Okay Owingeh roots. They waited 10 years after graduating to get married, which was 11 years ago now. “We’re both Pisces, so that, and being best friends before we got married, helps the relationship in the long run,” Nicole explains.

And, after spending the first 10 minutes with them, you know that they truly are best friends. It’s not just that Nicole and Arlo have a strong chemistry between them—plenty of other couples share a similarly tight bond, but too often that translates as keeping the rest of the world at arm’s length. Nicole and Arlo pull you along with them into their orbit, welcoming you with their infectious good humor and passionate optimism.

Arlo’s father, Dan Namingha, a renowned professional artist gave Arlo access to his studio when he was growing up. Like his father, his uncles and his grandfather before him, Arlo started out carving kachina dolls for ceremonial purposes.

When an inspirational instructor, Lawrence Naranjo, who was also Española High School’s track coach, asked Arlo to paint murals at the school, “my art abilities got piqued,” Arlo says.

Then he got interested in three-dimensional art forms, combining carving with wood, stone, bronze, and fabricated bronze to create what Nicole calls “your fascinating toys.”

“I knew eventually he was going to break out and become a professional artist,” Nicole confides. “Art was always in his heart and in his family. And,” she adds, smiling fondly at Arlo, “I know you love it.”

Dan and Frances Namingha opened Niman Fine Art in 1990 to celebrate Dan’s art, a large body of work including painting, photography and collage that Arlo proudly describes as being “very multi-media.” Soon afterwards, they invited Arlo to join the team, managing the business

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| Butterfly by Arlo Namingha

| Niman Fine Art

while making his own creations on the side.

“I did that for 10 years,” he says, “until it became a real juggling act, and then Nicole took over the business and managing end with my mother and my brother Michael.”

“I never expected to be a part of the art world,” Nicole marvels.

“I just fell into it. I was taking business courses, playing it safe, not sure what I wanted to do. When Arlo and his mom asked me if I wanted to work in the gallery, I said yes. It was like a puzzle, it all just fit.”

“Yeah,” Arlo interjects, “it’s scary how well Nicole and my mom get along.”

“The ladies keep the boys in line! Or, we try to!” Nicole teases, and they both laugh.

When asked about the Naminghas’ nationally renowned and highly respected acts of philanthropy and their outreach efforts on behalf of other artists, Arlo explains, “We definitely believe in different organizations, and this gives us the chance to support them.

And because it’s our gallery, we’re able to utilize the space the way our family wants to.”

One of the many, many charitable affairs hosted by the Namingha family was a momorable event called The Feast of the Future. In conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, the Share Our Strength organization, the NFL, and fellow philanthropists Robert Redford and his wife, Sibylle Szaggers, Rick and Beth Schnieders, and Olivia Sloan, the Naminghas hosted this multi-course sit-down dinner for 80 in their gallery to raise funds helping advance hunger prevention and nutrition promotion services in Native American communities. It featured the donated talents of local chefs Eric DiStefano, from Coyote Café and Geronimo and David Sellers, formerly of Amavi, as well as Mark Miller, of Red Sage, in Washington, D.C., and Freddie Bitsoie, of the Classic Cooking Academy, in Scottsdale. Live and silent auctions accompanied the meal. Tens of thousands of dollars were raised that night, with the entire sum going to Santo Domingo Pueblo, the Tuba City chapter of the Navajo Nation, and the White Mountain Apache tribe. This fund-raiser was the first of what the Namingha family plans to be an annual event.

“Dan and Frances always give back,” Nicole comments as she and Arlo describe the elder Naminghas’ largesse of spirit. To

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commemorate the family’s loss of Frances’ sister, Arlo’s Aunt Martha, to cancer, Dan donated an 80’ by 80’ painting to Albuquerque’s Cancer Institute.

The family also supports a host of other organizations, including the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), National Dance Institute of New Mexico (NDI-NM) and Futures for Children.

For the 48th anniversary of Futures for Children, Dan donated his painting of a Pendleton blanket.

In the philanthropic sense, Arlo is also following in his father’s footsteps. “I decided that if I was ever in a position to give someone else a shot, I’d do it,” he says, describing his idea to hand up-andcoming aspiring artists the space in Niman Fine Art for their own shows. “I always hope that other galleries will go ahead as a result and pick them up,” Arlo adds, and, in fact, so far, each one of the handful of artists that have been given this opportunity has subsequently gone on to have not only gallery representation but also museum backing, as well.

Not surprisingly, Arlo’s own sculptures are an intriguing combination of elements expressing those qualities he himself embraces: playful, ceremonial, harmonious, with the overriding theme of constant change. He’s especially fond of making interactive art with many interlocking pieces that the owners can arrange in endless variations.

“Life is constant movement,” he says. “Back on the res, things are always changing—scenery, me, people who’ve passed on, new kids being born.” He feels a great deal of reverence for life, which is reflected in all of his sculptures. One oft-repeated motif in his art is the butterfly, the symbol of transformation. If you look carefully, you can see in the pattern of its wings the stylized features of a kachina mask peeking through.

Niman Fine Art also features the photography and conceptual artwork of Arlo’s brother, Santa Fe Arts Commissioner Michael Namingha. “He’s our social director,” Arlo brags. “Our parents call Michael The International Kid. When we were younger, they used to host events in our home, and Michael and I were the valet parkers.”

Clearly, the Namingha family is united not only in their love and celebration of art and community but also of each other. “We all feel fortunate to be on the team,” says Arlo.

“And I think it’s great that Arlo and I have each other to lean on,” Nicole says. “We go out to dinner and right away we’ll be talking about the family business, what we’re going to do tomorrow, and how do you feel about that? People tell us, ‘You guys need to take a minute and not talk,’ but it’s what we want to do, it’s what we love to do.

“We don’t really argue or fight,” she concludes. “We’re too lazy to fight. We disagree about things, but then we just separate from each other, go in different rooms and it’s quiet—for maybe about half an hour, at the most! Then we go out for dinner and talk it over.”

As Arlo pauses on our way out of the gallery to demonstrate the interlocking features of a sculpture he’d described earlier, called Sand Hills, Nicole teases, “Another of your fascinating toys!” Showing just as much interest in the piece as Arlo, she adds, “That’s one of my favorites. In fact, I took the original!”

Niman Fine Art is at 125 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 116, in Santa Fe. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

505.988.5091. www.namingha.com.

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| Horizon #4 by Arlo Namingha

Please join us February 10 when we launch the

2011 SWAIA Localflavor Artist Luncheon Series!

Join Localflavor & SWAIA at the Inn of the Anasazi for an extraordinary afternoon with three highly celebrated Native American artists: Ricardo Cate, cartoonist Santo Domingo Pueblo Diego Romero, ceramicist Cochiti Pueblo Jason Garcia, clay and print artist Santa Clara Pueblo Featuring a three course luncheon in the intimate Library at the Inn of the Anasazi prepared by Master Chef Oliver Ridgeway

FROM SANTA FE’S RAILYARD PARK & PLAZA TO SUN MOUNTAIN, THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND WORKS TO SAVE THE LANDS THAT SANTA FEANS LOVE.

February 10 at the Library at the Inn of the Anasazi

PLEASE HELP US CREATE PARKS AND PROTECT SPECIAL PLACES THROUGHOUT NEW MEXICO.

1600 Lena Street Building C Santa Fe, NM 87505 505.988.5922

Reservation deadline is Tuesday, February 8 Mark your calendars now for upcoming Artist Luncheons April 14 • May 12 • June 16 • July 14 • October 13 • November 10 Tickets for SWAIA members: $60 per ticket per luncheon $30 of the ticket price is a tax-deductible donation to support SWAIA’s year round education programs • Series discounts available • For SWAIA membership and to purchase tickets go to www.swaia.org or call 505.983.5220

A taste of life in New Mexico

www.tpl.org/newmexico Photos: Left, Don Usner. Right, Maggie Muchmore.

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i l e D

Dancing in the

A

s I planned my first At The Table interview of the year, my editor requested that this month, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I search for a candidate who might be in business with his or her partner and include in my story how the relationship (we hope!) sweetens the work environment for staff, customers and the couple involved. You may recall a certain, long-gone ethnic

restaurant here where the wife manned the kitchen while the husband ran the floor. On many a visit, the two invariably got into a full-blown argument in front of the customers, including the slamming of doors and plates, that left you sitting there wondering if the food would ever find its way out of the kitchen and to your table. Ah, the joys of working with your significant other!

On the positive side, a few couples came to mind: La Boca’s James Campbell Caruso and pastry chef wife, Leslie; Il Piatto’s Matt Yohalem and wife, Honey; Luminaria’s Brian Cooper and wife, Erika. But I realized I had profiled Campbell Caruso just last year; I knew the Yohalem’s were in Sicily; and the Coopers had been transferred to Arizona. Some of the other contenders I might have considered were no longer personally involved— testimony that it is a challenge to work and also sleep with your business cohort.

The buzz circulating about the return of owner and creator Jeffrey Schwartzberg to his downtown Bagelmania and the clever and successful ad campaign featuring a silhouette cutout of the back of Schwartzberg’s torso heralding “Jeffrey’s Back!” had me heading there for breakfast to sample one of the six Eggs Benedict varieties on offer (it’s my favorite morning dish). I have to admit right here and now that I am not a bagel fan. I find them too doughy and filling—shocking to think, for a number of reasons, namely: I lived many years in New York City; I’m a carb addict; and an entire culture of people has been fed on them for centuries. Goy that I am, I much prefer the bagel’s cousin, the crustier and thinner bialy. But more on that later.

Upon his return, Schwartzberg changed Bagelmania’s name to match that of his other restaurant, located at Cerrillos and Rodeo. Now there are two New York Delis: the Southside location and the Downtown location, aptly referred to as the Upper Eastside. The interior has been freshened up with paintings and etchings featuring the Manhattan skyline and Triboro Bridge as imagined by Peter Tengler of Artman Signs Productions. The classic deli menu, too, puts your palate smack dab in the heart of the Big Apple—or, more specifically, on a stool in Katz’s or Canter’s, or your Jewish Grandmother’s kitchen.

The charming lady that came over to welcome me and made sure I enjoyed my meal on my first visit since Schwartzberg returned seemed familiar to me, and I assumed she was the manager doing a great job at running the floor. When I complimented her later as I was telling Schwartzberg how much I enjoyed my Benedict, he said, “That’s my wife, Ramona!” If the two of them were as pleasant together as they were separately, I knew I had found my duo.

I mentioned to Jeffrey that although I heard he had the best bagels in town, I wasn’t a bagel fan. When I returned a week later for lunch, he surprised me with a dozen bialys from the bialy bakery in Miami owned by his brother (who also happens to be his business partner). I was thrilled and promptly dispatched two bialys to the kitchen for toasting. They returned, laden with smoked salmon, red onion, cream cheese, and capers for me and my lunch date to enjoy. Let it be known to my readers that Johnny Vee can be had for the price of a bialy!

We planned our interview date. Schwartzberg was off to Mexico City to visit his daughter for the holidays; Ramona would be staying behind to look after the restaurants. I was happy because I still had ten bialys to tide me over

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story by JOHN VOLLERTSEN photos by GAELEN CASEY

| Ramona and Jeffrey Schwartzberg

into the new year. When our schedules coincide, I return for our chat and join a rested and tanned Jeffrey and his enthusiastic, delightful wife. Over my first bowl of matzo ball soup I learn just how successfully this partnership works, both in the restaurant and in the couple’s personal lives. I immediately know—mission accomplished.

“When did you first open Bagelmania?” I begin.

“In 1991, I opened it with the idea my son would continue to run it. He only stayed in the business for three years,” Jeffrey notes with a chuckle. “This building used to be a paint and body shop and then a mechanic’s garage; those big windows were once the doors the cars drove through into the shop. We had to dig out the car lifts from the ground and lay down a thick layer of cement to cover the surface. We opened the new place on the Southside in 1997. I eventually sold the Downtown store and focused on the Southside. I did remain the landlord downtown to the new owners, so when they decided to retire recently I re-acquired this location.”

At this point, a satisfied customer stops by our table to compliment the deli’s chopped liver and welcome Schwartzberg back to this location. “It’s interesting how Santa Fe’s palate has changed since we first opened. In those days, we had all of the items you always expected to have in a classic Jewish New York deli, but now things like knishes don’t sell. We slowly stopped making them. And, of course, green chile would never appear on anything in New York, but we have it in a few dishes here and even a green-chile schmear.”

Both Jeffery and his brother-partner, Gary, grew up in their father’s hugely successful bialy business, Slim’s, in New York. Dad “Slim” began his career in a basement bakery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the age of 11. “My father was raised in the Jewish ghetto, and the apartments were very cold in the winters. Bakeries in those days were always in the basement of buildings, so it was always nice and warm. Dad had the idea that working in a bakery would be a guaranteed way of staying warm. Interestingly, years later Dad opened the first bagel bakery to be on the street level of a building.”

Schwartzberg regales me with stories of his many young years making bialys and bagels. His tales are peppered with pantomimed movements of how the dough is rolled and shaped. Sound effects accompany the vivid memories. “After measuring out the dough into balls, you load them into a proofing box—you throw them into the box, and it makes a sound like thumpf, thumpf, thumpf. I can still hear the sound.” It’s a crash course for me in the art of making bagels and bialys. Schwartzberg’s eyes twinkle and sparkle as he recalls what must have been a grueling job, but he clearly loved it. This guy knows his bagels, and his passion is contagious. I feel like I am there with him in the bakery.

While Jeffrey was making his first bagel, Ramona Garduño was, well, Ramona wasn’t born yet! Ramona is quite a bit younger than Schwartzberg; this is her first marriage and his third.

Seeing them together, it is clear that three times is a charm. A local gal, she grew up in Las Vegas,

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New Mexico, and, prior to meeting Jeffrey, enjoyed a successful and fulfilling career as a flamenco dancer.

“I was always running and dancing around the house as a kid.

I couldn’t sit still,” she recalls. “I started studying in Santa Fe and then finally decided to get serious and go to Spain for three months to totally immerse myself. When I returned, I found a teacher who would become my mentor in Denver and lived there for six years. That mentor was Pablo Rodarte, a 20-year veteran of the dance who lived and worked in Spain.

Finally, back in Santa Fe, I started out doing non-performance roles with the María Benítez company waitressing, bookkeeping, and then finally joined the company as a dancer.” Ramona danced with Benítez’s groundbreaking troupe for four years, including an annual season at the Joyce Theater, in New York City. Eventually, Ramona started her own company and performed locally at most of the venues that feature flamenco.

“How did you two meet?” I inquire.

Ramona: “It was at a girlfriend’s birthday party. Jeffrey was newly single, and we actually danced together that night.” The courtshipto-marriage period lasted seven years; they have been married for five.

“Because I had been married twice before, it didn’t seem so urgent to me to do it again,” Jeffrey admits, “but my buddies encouraged me to.”

“Can you remember the night you proposed?” I ask.

“I consider myself a romantic,” Jeffrey confesses. “We were going to the California wine country for Ramona’s birthday, and I put together the ring and other things in what I called the ‘engagement kit.’ I had to hide it in my luggage. We went to a restaurant called Willy’s and were all settled in a private booth, and I was all ready to pop the question when I realized I had forgotten the engagement kit in the car, so I had to go out and get it. It was pouring rain, so I got soaked.”

“I was thinking, ‘Hurry up—ask me, ask me,’” Ramona chimes in.

Throughout our conversation, the affection between these two is palpable. “What’s the secret to working together?” I ask.

“We respect each other totally,” Jeffrey starts. “She puts up with me.

It is a pleasure to work with her.

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Marriage changed our relationship for the better.”

Ramona adds, “I am nonconfrontational. If we disagree, we talk it through and don’t scream and yell.”

I needle the two of them. “Ever any bumps in the road?”

“Last month we had one because I hadn’t had a day off in months,” Jeffrey admits. “It was a minor meltdown, which is why I planned my trip to Mexico. Ramona was sweet to stay behind and look after the business.

One of her nicknames for me is ‘paineous in the asseous!’”

“Said with love,” Ramona clarifies.

She continues, “Despite the hectic business, we always take time to have date nights. We still dance in the living room at home.” As a second career, she has started a dance exercise class at the Studio East, just off Canyon Road.

Called “Gypsy Moves,” it incorporates her years of professional dance into energetic, low-impact exercise.

Do they share the responsibilities of managing the business? “We each do certain things. The staff knows who to go to for what,” Ramona explains.

“Jeffrey is more concerned with the daily operation and staffing. I handle more of the behind-the-scenes stuff and administration.”

I compliment the delicious matzo ball soup, with its delicate dumplings.

“That recipe comes from a gal that worked for me right at the beginning.

Her name is Nan Lawrence, and she was from the Bronx. It is the same recipe we use today,” Jeffrey brags.

“We try recipes at home and then introduce them into the restaurant.

Our chef here, Balmore, does a terrific job.”

Watching the two interact with the staff feels like watching a happy family. My soup finished, I turn down an offer for a Reuben sandwich, and I’m off to work. Schwartzberg miraculously produces another dozen bialys (this guy is good). I assure him that the story will be a good one— bagels, bialys and all the rest.

So this Valentine’s Day, remember to respect your partner, dance them around the living room at least once a week, and maybe throw in the occasional bagel with green-chile schmear…or a bialy! - JV New York Deli is located at 4056 Cerrillos Road and 420 Catron Street in Santa Fe. 505.424.1200 and 505.982.8900 respectively. magazine.com

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A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

23

valentine’s Day

“aphroDite’s menu”

from terra restaurant.

T

erra Restaurant invites you to indulge your senses in the enticing creations of Chef Charles Dale this Valentine’s Day. Here are some special menu items to warm any heart: Maine Lobster and Arugula Salad with avocado, baby beets, palm hearts and hazelnut vinaigrette “Hot Date” Rack of Lamb with pumpkin seed mole, lamb shank and polenta relleno, piñon nut, orange and cilantro gremolata Chocolate-O – red and white chocolate sphere and cherry brandy sauce

Reservations: 505.946.5800 198 State Road 592 I Santa Fe I encantadoresort.com

Who: Michael Miller What: Volunteer chef Where: St. Elizabeth Shelter When: Tuesdays or Fridays Why: “I was once homeless and on the other side of the table. Now I like helping other people and working with the kitchen volunteers at St. E’s.”

Building Futures • Changing Lives www.steshelter.org

You, too, can volunteer to join our fabulous kitchen team. Just call Susan at 505-982-6611.

Compliments of localflavor magazine

24

FEBRUARY 2011

magazine.com

t p e w S off their feet story by ANA JUNE

p h o t o s b y K AT E R U S S E L L

F

or Jamie Lenfestey, it was love at first sight for the girl next door.

| Laurie and Jamie Lenfestey

“I was smitten from the moment I saw her,” he recalls.

Becoming that girl next door was initially disappointing for Laurie King, however. Her heart sank when she saw the results of the Connecticut College housing lottery. “I was disappointed,” she says, “to be put in that horrific 70sstyle building.” She had an abiding love for architecture, and had hoped to live in one of the gorgeous old dorm buildings that graced most of the campus.

The year was 1987, and neither Jamie nor Laurie knew at the time that the chance dorm placement was the start of what would become an enduring love story.

“Laurie had a boyfriend then and was also an intimidating older woman, so I pined away for her quietly,” Jamie relates. Then one day early in the second semester, Laurie knocked on Jamie’s door and invited him to a Valentine’s Day dance.

“I had a total crush on him but didn’t want to admit it, so I asked him to ‘do me a favor,’ and come with me to the dance,” she says.

Stunned to be asked, Jamie was nevertheless thrilled. “It was one of the truly great days of my life,” he says. After the party, the two of them went back to Laurie’s room, and Jamie was so happy he started dancing.

Then, suddenly, the world turned upside down.

“I tripped,” he says, “and fell backwards through the window of Laurie’s second-floor room, barely catching myself on the drapes.” For Jamie, it was a literal head-over-heels moment that he now remembers fondly.

“I guess I made an impression,” he laughs, “because we’ve been together ever since.”

The path that opened up before them swept them both to Boston after graduation, with Laurie going first, in 1988, to take a job she fell in love with where they could live amongst the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill. Jamie came the following year so he could be close to Laurie, but he wasn’t happy about being in Boston. “It seemed like all the people there were stockbrokers, and there I was working in a sandwich shop. I didn’t know what I really wanted to do,” he recalls.

That changed in the spring of 1990, when Jamie went to Washington, D.C., to help with a concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. It was there, at the end of a long day dealing with chaos backstage, that Jamie figured it out. Bruce Hornsby was playing, and Jamie ventured into the crowd of 20,000 people who were all having a great time as the music moved over and through them. Something about that energy hooked him and didn’t let go.

“It’s a moment I’ll always remember, the moment when the concert bug just bit me,” he says decisively.

It was a moment that sparked a decision to change his entire life—with one exception: Laurie.

“I need to go somewhere and do something,” he implored her. “I’m rotting in Boston. I need to start fresh.” And though Laurie loved her job and Boston, she decided to go with Jamie to that somewhere, to do something.

They made a list of possible places to go, ultimately setting their sights on the fog-silken silken-fogged shores of San Francisco.

Still, they were open to changing their minds.

“We started zigzagging, checking out different places,” says Laurie. They spent some time in Chicago, then New Orleans and Austin, but couldn’t see A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

25

themselves putting down roots in any of those cities. San Francisco continued to trump every town they visited—until they ventured into Santa Fe. It was a warm fall day, the sky impossibly blue. Just before reaching town, Jamie and Laurie noticed cars lining both sides of the highway and people wandering through the trees. “I saw all these people and wondered what the hell was going on,” says Jamie, laughing.

He and Laurie didn’t know then about the fall piñon harvest, but they soon would. San Francisco began to fade from their minds as the shadow of the Sangre de Cristos fell over them.

For a man with such an abiding love for live music, settling in Santa Fe could have been considered an odd choice. The local music scene centered around one club and a small amphitheatre—Club West and Paolo Soleri, respectively—and just a few short weeks after Jamie and Laurie arrived, even that changed. “I called Club West looking for a job,” says Jamie, “but they never returned my calls.” About three weeks later, Club West closed.

“Suddenly, there was a hole in the scene—or a complete lack of scene,” he reflects.

Laurie, meanwhile, found a niche in local real estate. “I love houses, design and people…I loved playing ‘matchmaker’ of sorts,” she says. Ultimately, however, realty was only a stop along the way to finding work that she loved, and she wasn’t quite there…yet.

Things began settling for them quickly, however—both personally and professionally. Right after arriving in Santa Fe, Jamie proposed. On August 22, 1992, he and Laurie were married on Mackinac Island, Michigan, and danced well into the night on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan as the sky above flamed with the Northern Lights. “It was all just breathtaking,” recalls Jamie, smiling.

They also bought their first house.

Then, life took an unexpected turn, right over the edge of a cliff.

It was a sun-struck December afternoon and a perfect day on the slopes. Jamie had just bought a season ski pass, and Laurie had finalized the purchase on a health insurance plan that basically just covered anything catastrophic. Both purchases were made that very morning in December, just before they strapped on their skis.

26

FEBRUARY 2011

“I had told Jamie ‘I am not skiing with you this year until we have health insurance,’” Laurie reflects. The $72 they spent on securing the policy was well spent. A mile below the ski area on their way home, their car hit a patch of black ice. In seconds, they were sailing off the road through a snowdrift and down the mountain.

“There was no guardrail,” Jamie says, “not on that part of the road.” When the world finally stopped spinning, the car was so crushed neither one of them could see the other.

“We could only hold hands,” Jamie recalls.

With no other options for rescue, Jamie struggled to pull himself free from the wreckage and from his ski boots. Then he hiked up the hill in his socks. As he came over the lip of the road, covered in blood from a cut on his head, the sun was behind him and a car was approaching. He lifted his arms in the air. He still distinctly recalls the look of horror on the faces of the young women in the car. “They just kept going,” he

relates.

When the next car appeared, Jamie walked out in front of it and made it stop.

Now, 17 years later, Jamie and Laurie talk easily about the accident, almost offhandedly mentioning the severity of their injuries. “We both broke our necks,” Jamie says, and the two of them smile as they recall venturing out in public together, both wearing metal haloes and back braces to allow their spines to heal.

“We’d go out to dinner sometimes, and everyone would always stare at us,” laughs Laurie. “It was kind of funny.”

Laurie also sustained crushing injuries to her right hand that required years of physical therapy to heal.

“You literally learn to talk to your hand,” she says, demonstrating the exercises she willed herself to do over and over. Touching each finger to her thumb, she remarks that for a long time her hand wouldn’t do anything. “I couldn’t even write my name,” she says.

As she talks, she’s making dozens of rings using

magazine.com

buttons and lace, the injury to her dominant hand hardly apparent. Her days in real estate are behind her now, and creativity has taken center stage. Her inspiration: becoming a mother, first to William, in 1995, then Olivia, in 1998. She took up photography to record what she calls the “bittersweet” passage of their childhoods, and that evolved into making photo collage cards for William, to smooth his transition to preschool.

Other parents took notice of the daily cards in William’s lunchbox, and soon, Laurie was making them to order.

That, in turn, led to picture frames, custom books and a paper line.

Jewelry was next.

“I was looking for doodads for the books, and I found this gorgeous blue vintage rosary, and that’s how my jewelry line started,” she says.

Her jewelry is a mix of semi-precious and vintage beads, stones, silver, and other interesting things, and it’s all made by hand in her studio and her little jewel box

| Michael Franti

| Bruce Springsteen and Jamie

of a shop on Canyon Road, aptly named Bittersweet Designs. She built her business on wholesale accounts worldwide and is now expanding it into more retail markets. (Bittersweet is at 901 Canyon Road. You can see some of Laurie’s work on her website at www. bittersweetdesigns.com.)

In addition to making jewelry, Laurie is working diligently to help other artists find success. She has hosted two art openings in her shop so far and has plans for many more. “I believe that the pot is big enough,” she reflects. “I want to encourage creativity and get as much beauty into the world as possible.”

It’s accurate to say that Jamie subscribes to the same philosophy, and his vision and persistence have paid off. “I did my first show at Sweeney Center with Bruce Cockburn and then that summer did Indigo Girls and Willie Nelson at Paolo Soleri,” he recalls. “Then I just kept plugging away at whatever venues were available and appropriate.” Eventually, the transition

of the Lensic from a movie theater to a performing arts center gave Jamie the opportunity he was looking for.

“Their role in elevating the Santa Fe performing arts culture cannot be overstated,” he notes.

Jamie brought the first commercial performance to the Lensic, staging a riveting show by Sweet Honey in the Rock that elevated his own status from music promoter to arts presenter in the eyes of an influential local arts editor. The success put Jamie and his company, Fan Man Productions, solidly on the map.

Since then, Jamie has helped expand local venue options, being the first to bring popular music to the Santa Fe Opera, for instance.

But despite local consensus that Jamie has revolutionized, if not created, the music scene in Santa Fe, he remains humble. “There’s no magic to it,” he says simply, adding that “by staying fluid and going with the flow, I have been able to stick around.”

Now, Jamie is looking forward to a new gig—working with the non-profit Heath Foundation to continue expanding Santa Fe’s musical future.

“Going to work for Heath will allow me the opportunity to pursue a lot of new ideas that I have about how to do more for Santa Fe,” he says. “For years I have wanted to further expand the music scene, and to create more community outreach programs through events. I also fell in love with the Railyard park after helping produce the Grand Opening celebration there, and my work with Heath will allow me to finally fully pursue funding to produce a free community series of concerts and movies there the likes of which Santa Fe has never seen before.”

But while their chosen careers have certainly been fulfilling for both Laurie and Jamie, it’s the love story they began composing 23 years ago, when Laurie knocked on her neighbor’s door to ask a favor…when Jamie swooned and nearly fell out of a two-story window….that has cemented the foundation of their happiness. And their success.

“At the end of it all,” Jamie says, “I still get to spend almost every day with the woman I literally fell head over heels in love with way back in college. And she still makes my heart flutter. From first holding hands to moving across the country together; from surviving our car accident, having kids, and growing together; these are all a part of my life— our lives together—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

27

T

he Torreón, located 100 yards or so away from the main entrance of Albuquerque’s National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC), is an unsuspecting location for Mundos de Mestizaje, North America’s largest concave fresco.

At first conceived as a gift shop, this

Mestizaje

tower now holds 4000 square feet of detailed and magnificent insight into what it means to be Hispanic in the Southwest.

Frederico Vigil, the Santa Fe painter responsible for this monumental endeavor, opens the door for my family and me and welcomes us inside. A gentleman, true to the word’s definition, Vigil is softspoken, self-deprecating and humble. His demeanor is as unassuming as his creation is grand. The simple concrete floor and dim lighting of the Torreón belies the majesty that now resides on the ceiling above. The focus of Mundos de Mestizaje is that our Southwestern food, culture, and genetics are all a result of mestizaje (the mixing of blood and heritage, specifically a European and indigenous synthesis).

Vigil is making a bold statement here (and one that might make some people uncomfortable) but he has spent the last decade of his life studying, note-taking, and painting 3000 years of a complex and diverse Hispanic history, the result of which is the fresco that was unveiled at the ten- year anniversary of the NHCC this past October.

Although Vigil’s work was commissioned by the NHCC, Mundos de Mestizaje is considered a public work of art, and therefore required the input of many voices in its creation, as well as public approval of its design.

For the first two and a half years he spent working on the piece, Vigil had regular meetings with five Ph.D.s

28

Mundos de

FEBRUARY 2011

s t o r y b y E M I LY B E E N E N

photos by GAELEN CASEY

| Frederico Vigil

magazine.com

specializing in areas such as Iberian and Mesoamerican History. “The Ph.D.s would sit down and speak,” he recounts, “and I would take notes.” Vigil then created sketches based on his notes. After that, a string of public meetings were held, and information was presented to numerous boards. A lot of time was spent discussing whether, as Vigil puts it, “there is too much of this or too much of that.” There were many parties with vested interest in the piece who had a lot to say about the meaning and history of Hispanic identity. The artist is able to laugh now at the painstaking process, but admits, “It’s a miracle that it really happened!” And at that point, the painting hadn’t even begun yet.

Buon fresco (“true fresco”), is an Italian art form popularized in the 16th Century (think Sistine Chapel) and a complex process requiring great precision and concentration by the artist. The first stage consists of three layers of plastering, which Vigil began in 2002 and spent two years completing. Traditionally, the first two layers of a fresco are “rough plastered” with a mixture of lime, cement, and sand, while the third layer (smoother because the sand mixture becomes finer closer to the surface) lays the foundation for the sinopia, or preliminary drawing.

After the layers are completed, the fresco artist creates a rough sketch of the overall design, then traces it. The resulting design on the translucent paper is referred to as “the cartoon.” At this stage, Vigil “fine tunes the cartoon, because things will change from the rough sketch on the wall.” Then, he continues, “I put the cartoon back on the wall and I pounce it [apply powdered charcoal through the perforation so the outline is traced back onto the plaster], and through those little holes, it gives me line and direction on the wall. It gives me perspective and scale.” And make no mistake, it is a very large scale he is talking about: The head of one of the horses in the fresco stands at 5’7”.

However, before the “pouncing”

with powdered charcoal, two more layers of damp plaster must be added. The artist must keep careful track of the timing of his processes, because the pigments must be applied while the section of the wall is still damp, as the essence of the buon fresco is the chemical reaction that takes place when inorganic pigments interact with the lime and the water. As the pigments dry along with the plaster, the colors are literally being pulled into, and become part of, the wall itself. “That why there’s no glare or sheen, like with an oil painting,” Vigil explains, but it’s also why this technique, though clearly time-consuming, is sought after. The resulting creation will last hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Despite the intricacy of the fresco process, not to mention the detail involved in covering the complex history of a people, what Vigil comes back to time and time again in the focus of this extraordinary work of art is the fundamental idea of mestizaje and how interrelated we are as human beings. With his red flashlight pointer, Vigil draws my attention to the historical starting point of the fresco, a bull from a cave painting found in Altamira, Spain, about 20,000 years ago. He quickly moves the pointer clockwise around the inside of the tower, indicating the Phoenicians, Iberians, Celts, Romans, Jews, Moors and Christians, all included in the ancestral roots of the people now known as Spaniards. Then counterclockwise from the bull, he specifies the Incas, Aztecs, Mexicans. It becomes clear that both of these worlds— the Iberian Peninsula and Mesoamerica— converge in the Southwest. The story of how these diverse cultures came together was a huge motivating factor for Vigil during the six years he spent working on the fresco. “The way that I looked at it,” he muses, “each piece was so interesting historically and artistically, everything was so fascinating, that it was always new and never boring, and that helped me.”

You could potentially spend hours, days perhaps, attempting to take in the all of the features of the fresco, but one element that is immediately recognizable

| The Torreon at NHCC

is the way Vigil has proven himself not only a remarkable artist but also an exceptional diplomat. The fresco has a brilliant sense of equity and balance; every human represented has equal presence and strength. The mother holding her newborn child is just as formidable as the Christian warrior atop his white horse.

What impact has the project had on Vigil’s own sense of identity, as an Hispanic born and raised in Santa Fe? “We are all isolated in our own environment, with our own ritual and ceremony, so that makes us unique,” he responds. “This [process] has opened up the global and genetic interrelation of us.” Vigil notes that while he possessed some prior awareness of our similarities as people, now “I have a much clearer perspective of how interrelated we are.

Ultimately, the focus is not how we’re different, but on the whole, how we are the same.” His hope is when scholars come to the National Hispanic Cultural Center to speak, there will be more focus on this connection and how it manifests socially, religiously, and culturally.

During the winter months the fresco is open to the public every Sunday from 12-4pm, and some of the particulars are still being worked out--from how the Torreòn will be lighted to training docents on the extensive historical and artistic background of the piece. I asked Frederico if, after creating fourteen major frescos since 1984, he was all “frescoed” out. “Well,” he replied looking around the Torreòn, “I’d probably never do another one of this scale, unless I had a lot of help, especially with the plastering part.

At 64, I’m getting to the point where the body can’t do things. You know, I don’t think anybody ever realized as to what was going to happen here. It didn’t start out to be ‘the largest fresco in North America,’ our intentions were more humble than this. This just evolved, which is the best.”

National Hispanic Cultural Center is located at 1701 4th Street SW in Albuquerque. 505.246.2261. www.nationalhispaniccenter.org.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

FEBRUARY 2011

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Tastytraditions

s t o r y b y TA N I A C A S S E L L E

P

otica bread, latkes, and beef stewed in Coke.

Perhaps not the first dishes that spring to mind when you think about New Mexican food, but author Sharon Niederman knows better. Her new book, New Mexico’s Tasty Traditions: Recollections, Recipes and Photos, explores the unexpected side of the state’s culinary personality—and the history behind it.

The people Niederman writes about in New Mexico’s Tasty Traditions would probably not describe themselves as foodies. They’re just regular people who eat well, whether in neighborhood diners, at a ranch cookout, or by following time-honored recipes handed down in the family.

Consider a small town cafe that’s a favorite hangout for locals. “If you grow up there and always go to the same cafe, it’s nothing special to you,” 30

FEBRUARY 2011

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says Niederman. “But being an outsider you say, ‘Wow, this is fabulous!’

And people share their stories and invite you home. I’ve experienced so many places in New Mexico like that.”

The book allowed Niederman to explore subjects that have inspired her on her travels and combine them with updated greatest-hit selections from her many newspaper and magazine articles. She took the book’s excellent photographs, too, revisiting some of her favorite places to capture the people, events, and food.

Her intimate portraits, by both camera and pen, are interspersed with recipes shared by New Mexicans she met en route, including Tuda’s Bizcochitos, Grandmother’s Vinegar Pie, and Doc and Betsy’s Red Flannel Hash. It’s a little like leafing through someone’s personal culinary scrapbook, even if that someone is an authority on New Mexico fare. Santa Fe poet Miriam Sagan (no slouch herself when it comes to conjuring up the joys of food) paid tribute to Niederman’s expertise in a recent blog post,

proposing a new bumper sticker: “What Would Sharon Niederman Eat?” “I love celebrating local ingredients, and I wanted to give as complete a picture as I could of the wealth of food traditions in New Mexico,” says Niederman. She went behind the scenes at farmers’ markets, hung out with Chimayó chile farmers, and sat down with urban gardeners to chat about what they do. She baked potica bread, joined in the Colfax County Fair cakewalk, and judged a Dutch oven cooking contest.

“It was a lot of fun. If I’m writing about chokecherries, it’s one thing to write an article by researching, it’s another to go foraging oneself, to have the sensual experience and put your hand on the ripe berries. It’s glorious.

It’s a spiritual situation to tune into the wild abundance that is around us, to understand deeply that the earth in a very primal sense has been created for our sustenance, and to learn to respect that and live in harmony with it.”

Niederman harvested those chokecherries in Cimarron Canyon, where

she’d often gone fishing and hiking. She knew that at the right times the canyon was laden with wild fruits including chokecherries, plums, apples, and apricots.

“Many families have their own trees staked out. It’s like having your own garden, synching yourself with the natural world. We filled half a box.” The fruit made so much juice Niederman had to freeze some, until she ran out of chokecherry jelly over Christmas and wanted to make more. “The challenge becomes finding the jelly jars and knowing the places that actually carry jellymaking supplies year-round!”

Niederman is fascinated by the cultural legacy of food. “New Mexico has advertised itself for a hundred years as being tri-cultural. My experience is that there’s far more diversity of culture here than the traditional three cultures, encoded in the growing, cooking, and sharing of food.”

For example, she’d seen potica bread (“really a holiday cake”) in Hispanic and Italian homes. She discovered it was a Slavic bread, shared by Slavic miners with their neighbor immigrants from all over the world in the mining towns, and each ethnic group added their own interpretations. A chapter on “Latkes on the Rio Grande,” complete with recipe, reminds us of New Mexico’s Jewish heritage, dating as far back as settlers fleeing the Spanish Inquisition via Mexico.

Originally from the East Coast, Niederman lived a decade in the Denver/ Boulder area and moved to New Mexico around 1980. Her first taste of chile in Albuquerque nearly 30 years ago had her reaching for a glass of water and expressing outrage that anyone would dare charge for the dish. A year later she relished it as much as any true blue (or red or green) New Mexican.

She moved from Albuquerque to Raton a couple of years ago, because of her husband’s family ties and because she had a hunch it would enhance her work to live in one of those small towns she writes about, rather than just visiting them.

Her husband is a keen gardener and cook. “He comes from a family where no sooner did people finish one meal than they were planning the next. His

specialty is a mock cherry pie that his mother and grandmother made, with cranberries, raisins, and almond extract to flavor it. It’s a winter pie—you close your eyes and fool yourself that you’re eating cherry. You have to cut the fresh cranberries and raisins in half, and that takes time. In those days they had the time.”

Niederman cooks with antique kitchen implements she inherited or picked up on her travels. Her jelly-making equipment is at least 100 years old, as are her cast-iron pans. “An old ice cream scoop…a rolling pin…we get a lot of satisfaction using these things.”

Her surprising tip for a pot roast is not in the book: “Set your oven at 225 degrees and put in lamb or beef or anything you have. Pour a liter of Coca-Cola over it, put the lid on, and several hours later it’s delicious and tender and wonderful.” This is an old tip passed on by women ranchers.

“They could go out riding in the pre­–crock pot days and have dinner ready

| Sharon Niederman Photos when they got home.”

Niederman has spent a lot of time with ranch women and homesteaders, learning their kitchen secrets and pioneer tricks, like Pinto Bean Pie—a sweet treat made in winter months back in the days before fresh fruit was available year-round on supermarket shelves. That recipe is in the book, courtesy of Joyce Shaw, whose mother used to make it.

“People are very ingenious when it comes to food,” says Niederman.

“How in the world did the indigenous people figure out that beans and corn makes a perfect protein? But they did. Until 1821, when Mexico gained control from Spain, we only had one road in and one road out, the Camino Real, so we were completely dependent on the caravans, a threeyear round trip, to bring supplies.” Niederman considers this the reason for New Mexicans’ much-vaunted independence and ability to get by in harsh circumstances. “This includes arts and decoration and the work of the santeros who made their own pigments. Or if you didn’t have iron for a hinge what could you use? Leather. They were very creative and innovative people.”

Niederman’s passion for New Mexico food and her enthusiasm to share her discoveries is evident, and many an eatery no doubt thanks her for it.

Her reviews of off-the-beaten track haunts have brought visitors flooding in.

“People are starved for authentic interactions, authentic places, and authentic people. The more we get mechanized and homogenized and the more restaurant chains open, the more we crave road food and the little mom-and-pop cafe.” In fact, a tiny cafe is probably where you’ll find her, armed with her camera and notebook. “I’m always researching, wherever I go.”

Sharon Niederman’s New Mexico’s Tasty Traditions: Recollections, Recipes and Photos is published by New Mexico Magazine, $27.95 and is available at most book stores.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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101 m a e T

story by CHRISTIE CHISHOLM photos by GAELEN CASEY

J

ennifer James picks up two empty coffee cups at the counter and hands them to Nelle Bauer, who relays them to the fixings station, where she fills them with breakfast roast and cream. As the two settle down at a small metal table in Ecco Gelato, in Nob Hill, they look at each other nervously. Talking about your

relationship to a stranger must be uncomfortable, especially when you possess one of the town’s most memorable names, which hangs in lights over one of Albuquerque’s most well-known restaurants.

We start by talking about their different roles at Jennifer James 101, where both work literally side by side every day in a space the size of a walk-in closet. “I’m not capable of doing 90 percent of what Nelle does,” Jennifer says, to which Nelle chimes in, “I always defer to her.”

On the restaurant’s website, Jennifer, Nelle and

the third owner, Jennifer’s sister Kelly Burton, are listed respectively as “brawn,” “brains” and “beauty.” Kelly takes care of the front of house while Nelle handles communications and works in the kitchen with Jennifer, who prefers staying close to the restaurant’s four-burner stove.

The two met five years ago, when Jennifer was still at her previous restaurant, Graze. Nelle was back in town from New York, where she was getting her Master’s in Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU and working at Food Arts.

A mutual friend thought the two would hit it off, due to their shared love of cuisine, and slyly brought Nelle to Graze for a meal. Over the next six months, Nelle flew back regularly to see Jennifer—and, on the side, to visit her family, who still lives here. The two would also occasionally meet on random trips around the country, like the time they met in Cleveland, when Nelle was acting as a judge for an event at The Chef ’s Garden farm.

When Jennifer left Graze, she road-tripped to New York, with Nelle meeting her halfway and continuing the rest of the distance. Jennifer stayed in New York with Nelle for the next four months, while Nelle finished her Master’s and the two of them hatched a plan.

Nelle says she knew she’d end up going back to Albuquerque with Jennifer, but not because she craved the West. “I never wanted to move back,” she says, “but Jennifer was not going to go anywhere.”

“That’s not true,” Jennifer protests. “There was that tiny place in New Jersey I wanted to open, except you told me all the food would have to be kosher.”

They smile at each other.

“I wanted to be with Jennifer and closer to my family,” says Nelle, so they packed up and came back.

Nelle grew up in Albuquerque but left when she was 18, gradually making her way to New York via an undergraduate stitnt in Philadelphia. Bachelor’s in Philadelphia (she also picked up a degree from the Culinary Institute of America once she got to NYC). She says she’s only really came to terms with being back in New Mexico during the last couple of months. “I hate driving in my car to work,” she says, wistfully recalling the twice-daily 40-minute train rides that gave her plenty of time to read.

Jennifer comes from a very different background. She grew up in smalltown White Hall, Illinois, where there were nearly as many farms as people and the downtown basically consisted of Main Street. She got her Bachelor’s from A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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| Nelle Bauer and Jennifer James

the University of Illinois and found a job in St. Louis, thinking she would make a career in restaurant management. Around the time she realized she wanted to be on the other side of the kitchen, she decided to uproot. “I knew I was sick of the Midwest,” she says, “and I always had a romantic notion of the West.”

Jennifer didn’t come to Albuquerque right away. “I had a brief love affair with Cheyenne, Wyoming,” she says. “I bought two Stetson cowboy hats and line danced occasionally.”

The affair ended, and she moved here and “fell in love” with the city. That was in her late 20s, or at least that’s what she thinks. Jennifer doesn’t know exactly how long she’s been in Albuquerque, so she and Nelle spend a couple minutes trying to figure it out.

“Were you here in ’93?” Nelle asks.

“No, definitely not.”

“Were you here in ’95?”

“I don’t think so.”

This continues, and eventually Jennifer eases back into her seat. “I’m not sure,” she says. “I’ve been here a while.”

When Nelle and Jennifer first moved back to Albuquerque, they didn’t have grand plans to open a restaurant. They were both living with Kelly and, Nelle laughs, “I didn’t look for a job.

Jennifer didn’t either. We didn’t want one.”

“I still don’t want one,” Jennifer grins.

The desire to cook and create broke its way to the surface, though, and their household started throwing JUG (Jennifer Under Ground) dinner parties. They’d cook, and guests would chip in whatever money they could. They liked the model so much that they wanted to figure out a way to do it on a daily basis. They started looking for a space to open a restaurant while working at Chef du Jour. After a year of doing JUG parties, they opened Jennifer James 101.

The restaurant continues in the tradition of JUG with its community table, a communally seated table of eight that seats 34

FEBRUARY 2011

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every Wednesday night at 6 p.m. The rest of the dining room operates like a normal restaurant, but Jennifer and Nelle like having something that brings people together under the umbrella of great food.

Most of Jennifer and Nelle’s relationship has evolved while working together. For the last three years they’ve spent the majority of every day standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. “We were forced to learn about each other more quickly,” Jennifer says. Developing a relationship in such a tight environment has its advantages and challenges. “There are both sides,” Jennifer adds. “In our industry we’re together 24/7. Then we go home and we’re there.” She pauses. “But on the other hand, I’m exhausted and she knows exactly why.”

They each have to set aside time for themselves to be alone, but beyond managing their personal space they also have to keep themselves from talking about work all the time. “We can’t go out to dinner and talk about our days,” Nelle says, “because we end up talking about work.” And when they go on vacation, Jennifer adds, they end up buying things for the restaurant rather than their house or themselves.

This is perhaps due to the fact that both are self-proclaimed workaholics, which is one reason why they get along so well.

“That helps, and having the same passion for what we do,” Jennifer adds.

Working together so closely has also turned the pair into a serene but very quickly running machine. “Customers comment on how quiet and calm the kitchen is,” Nelle says. “We don’t have to speak—I know her timing, I know how she moves.”

“A lot of people comment on that, that it’s like watching a symphony,” Jennifer adds.

Even now, the two work off each other’s sentences, as if they’re both expressing a single thought. And there are plenty of qualities the two of them share.

“We’re both stubborn, hard-headed,” says Nelle.

“We’re both perfectionists,” adds Jennifer.

“We both have excellent fashion sense,” Nelle says, laughing.

“Don’t write that.”

But Jennifer and Nelle, although they’re both working pieces that make up one symphonically smooth machine, maintain their differences. Jennifer is easy to smile but shy; Nelle is exuberant, doling out jokes effortlessly. Jennifer taught herself to cook (“I just love to eat,” she says), while Nelle was trained traditionally.

Jennifer calls herself a “doer” and Nelle a “thinker.”

“And I don’t do laundry,” Nelle says. “For real, I don’t.”

Those differences complement each other. Jennifer will come up with an idea for a dish, and Nelle will figure out a way to make it a reality in such a small cooking space. They learn from and take care of each other, doing things like reminding the other to eat. It sounds silly considering that the two of them spend their days in front of food, but they stay so busy that eating is easy to neglect. “Literally, we have to do it for each other,” Nelle says.

“I like to be her reality check—remind her what she’s doing and why she’s doing it.”

It’s easy to imagine how spending so much time with one person could create tension in a relationship, and the two talk and laugh about the ways they have to escape each other. But when asked what the best thing about working together is, Nelle’s response is immediate. “The best thing?” she repeats with a massive grin. “The best thing is showing up to work. And the person you’re head-over-heels crazy about is who you get to work with every day.”

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Jennifer James 101 is located at 4615 Menaul Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. 505.884.3860. www.jenniferjames101.com.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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Still

? y r g n Hu b y E M I LY R U C H

Chef Jennifer James of jennifer james 101 Despite its modest neighborhood, jennifer james 101 is undeniably one of Albuquerque’s heavyweight champions de cuisine. This delightful crème de la crème is the culinary masterwork of three women: Jennifer James, Nelle Bauer and Kelly Burton. A “spice-inspired” palette lends warmth to the modern decor, and the sophisticated minimalism of the space complements the three chefs’ philosophy toward food.

“We start with the best ingredients and do as little to them as possible,” Nelle says. “Enough people are playing with food.

We don’t need to play with our food.” Fittingly, she describes the restaurant’s fare with small words: “clean, simple, seasonal.”

Don’t be deceived, however, by Nelle’s plain language—the food at this little jewel is anything but ordinary.

Grilled Mangalitsa Pork Rib Eye with Citrus Caramel, Arugula and Shaved Apple Serves 2

2 Mangalitsa pork rib eyes 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup sherry vinegar Juice of 1 lemon Juice of 1 lime Juice of 1 orange Salt Freshly ground black pepper Arugula Apples, shaved Extra virgin olive oil Fresh lemon juice

Season rib eye with salt and pepper. Grill to desired temperature. Remove from grill. Brush heavily with citrus caramel. Serve alongside arugula and shaved apples tossed in extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice. jennifer james 101 is located at 4615 Menaul Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. 505.884.3860. www.jenniferjames101.com.

FEBRUARY 2011

Chef Skot Kirshbaum of Byzantium Exotic silks and spices. Sparkling golden mosaics. Colorful bazaars and domed cathedrals. One of the great civilizations of antiquity, Byzantium, which was situated west of Persia and east of Rome, has long tempted the imagination with rich tapestries of ancient splendor. Chef Skot Kirshbaum, owner of the whimsical restaurant Byzantium in Taos, wants these vivid images of mystery and decadence to serve as an amuse-bouche of sorts, harbinger of a complex and adventurous cuisine that draws inspiration from every quadrant of the map. Luckily, you don’t have to be Marco Polo to find this little taste of the Old World. “We’re off the beaten path,” he laughs, “but right in the center of town.”

Byzantium Citrus Marmalade 4 cups sugar 1 gallon water 10 oranges 5 grapefruits Zest of 2 grapefruits Zest of 2 oranges 1 vanilla bean

Caramelize sugar over medium heat until deep amber in color.

Remove from heat. Slowly add vinegar and citrus juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.

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Lovers come and go, but food is forever! This Valentine’s Day, celebrate your love affair with food at a few of our favorite (admittedly romantic) restaurants. Intimate, inviting, and inspired, each of these four restaurants will woo your stomach while it captures your heart!

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Combine sugar and water in large saucepan. Heat on low until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium-high, add the zest of two orange and two grapefruit rinds to the simple syrup. Peel the oranges and cut the segments in half.

Cut the grapefruit segments into thirds. Add the grapefruit and orange pieces. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and add to saucepan. Cook down on medium-high heat for two to three hours, until reduced to a syrup. Allow to cool before serving. Lasts 2 weeks in refrigerator.

A wonderful topping on fresh bread or toast and baked Brie.

Byzantium is located at 112 Camino de la Placita on the corner of Ledoux Street in Taos. 575.751.0805.

Chef Craig Murphy of Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse When the red light is lit, approach Vernon’s heavy, black door and knock three times. In the classic speakeasy tradition, a peephole window in the door will flip open. This is your cue to speak the password, “Joe sent me.” Welcome to Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse, a ritzy nightclub and swank steakhouse concealed discreetly within a package store adjacent to the Calico Cafe. Crossing that inconspicuous threshold is like stepping into another era. Polished black plaster walls, a crimson plank wood ceiling and the honeyed serenade of a jazz piano create an atmosphere of refined indulgence with a subtle undertone of goodfella thrown in for good measure.

Chateaubriand with Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes and Broccolini in Béarnaise Sauce

Chef Andrea Meyer of The Love Apple La pomme d’amour (“the love apple”) is the affectionate name the French, notoriously smitten with their food, gave the tomato in the sixteenth century. True to the origins of its namesake, The Love Apple, appropriately housed in a charmingly renovated chapel, has elevated that celebration of food to a spiritual philosophy. Owner Jennifer Hart and Chef Andrea Meyer challenge themselves to “work within parameters of integrity,” a practice that recognizes food as much more than a culinary experience, however gloriously delicious it may be! The best meals are those that bring people together, and at The Love Apple those meals, “organic in nature, regional in source and prepared from scratch with intention,” connect an entire community.

Serves 2

Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes and Broccolini 10 baby Yukon Gold potatoes 7 stalks of broccolini 1 cup Béarnaise sauce

Posole and Grilled Shepherd’s Lamb Green Chile Sausage

Béarnaise Sauce 3 egg yolks 1/8 cup white wine Dash of lemon juice Dash of Worcestershire sauce Dash of Tabasco sauce 6 ounces clarified butter

2 packages Shepherd’s Lamb Green Chile Sausage 2 cups local hominy 2 Tablespoons salt 3 onions 1/2 cup pancetta or bacon, chopped 3 cups onion, chopped 1 cup carrot, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 3 bay leaves 2 Tablespoons garlic, minced 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup green chile, chopped 1 cup red chile (soaked and pureed, rather than dried powder) 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped 2 quarts chicken, beef or pork stock

To make Béarnaise sauce, combine egg yolks, white wine, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce in mixing bowl. With a whisk, stir continuously over double boiler until the mixture starts to thicken. Slowly add clarified butter while whisking. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Parboil potatoes. Toss in olive oil and season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme to taste. Arrange on a lightly greased cookie sheet, place in oven, and roast for about thirty minutes or until tender.

While potatoes are roasting, simmer broccolini until tender. Season with salt, pepper and butter to taste.

Serve with Béarnaise sauce.

Chateaubriand 1 20-ounce center-cut beef tenderloin 1 teaspoon of tarragon reduction Tarragon Reduction 1 shallot, diced 1 cup dry red wine 1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon To make tarragon reduction, sauté shallot lightly in oil. Add tarragon and red wine. Reduce by half. Set aside.

Season beef tenderloin with salt and pepper to taste. Pan sear all surfaces in butter to desired temperature. Drizzle beef tenderloin with tarragon reduction.

Serves 8

Soak hominy overnight. The next day, bring hominy and salt to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 3 hours). Drain hominy.

Meanwhile, halve and slice 3 onions and caramelize, over very low heat, in butter in a separate sauté pan.

In a soup pot, render pancetta or bacon. Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, then add white wine, green chile, red chile, cooked hominy from above, fresh oregano and cilantro, caramelized onions from above and enough chicken, beef or pork stock to reach desired consistency.

Allow the stew to cook for one hour for flavors to combine. Adjust with salt to suit your taste.

Plate any way you like and enjoy!

Meanwhile, score and grill sausage links. Serve whole atop posole alongside a slaw of cabbage, lime, fresh herbs and radish.

Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse is located at 6855 4th Street NW in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. 505.341.0831. www.thehiddensteakhouse.com.

The Love Apple is located at 803 Paseo del Pueblo Norte in Taos.

575.751.0050. www.theloveapple.net.

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